Former federal permanent secretary and elder statesman, Philip Asiodu has recounted a difficult episode in Nigeria’s oil negotiations during the global oil crisis while serving under the administration of former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon.
Speaking during an interview on The Legacy Series, Asiodu described how Nigeria struggled with crude oil pricing arrangements and contract execution at a time when the international oil market was still relatively unstable and heavily influenced by long-term agreements between producers and oil companies.
He explained that an intermediary once approached the government with claims that he could improve Nigeria’s crude oil sales price, despite the slim margin involved at the time.
“There was one Alhaji Abubakar, I never met him who came to us and oil then was $3.22 and said he could get us $3.25. We gave it to him but unfortunately, he couldn’t deliver,” Asiodu said.
According to him, the failure of the arrangement created an urgent situation that forced the government to intervene directly in its dealings with international oil companies to avoid losses and contractual complications.
“So they had to appeal to me to call the oil companies and say that oil we took, we can’t sell it,” he recalled.
Asiodu further explained that Nigeria’s oil sales system at the time operated on a structured review mechanism, with prices adjusted periodically rather than fluctuating freely in the market.
“And I called them and because they know we revise prices every 3 months. What I put to them, I didn’t expect them to accept but they accepted,” he stated…See More
